Eric Persson announces repurchase of two Elko casinos to save 239 jobs

Eric Persson, co-founder of Maverick Gaming, has announced he will repurchase the Maverick Casino Hotel and the Gold Country Inn and Casino in Elko, Nevada, and will rehire the 239 employees whose job losses were disclosed in a closure notice. Persson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on 8 October 2026 that he expects to close the transaction within three weeks; he has not disclosed price, the buying entity or whether the buildings are included in the purchase.

Repurchase in Elko: what Eric Persson has said

Persson explained in an email to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he is in the process of acquiring the two properties facing each other on Idaho Street in Elko, and that operations would move to Maverick, a company he owns outright. "There will be no disruption and all the employees will be rehired," Persson told The Nevada Independent. On the purchase he said he is reclaiming his own name and brand from the lenders: "I signed a transition service agreement with my lenders and basically am getting all the assets back," he said in the same interview.

Persson also said he agreed in July 2025 to transfer assets to his creditors, who subsequently initiated proceedings through a separate company. He added that "Maverick Gaming is not a party to the bankruptcy," distinguishing the brand from the debtor entities listed in the case file.

Employment, timetable and the closure notice

Maverick NV LLC filed WARN notices with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation to close both casinos on 30 November 2026 and put 239 jobs at risk: 198 at the Maverick Casino Hotel and 41 at the Gold Country Inn and Casino. Persson says those workers will be terminated by the old entity and later rehired by the new structure he is assembling.

Persson’s proposed timetable — closing in about three weeks from 8 October — falls before several key regulatory meetings: the Nevada Gaming Commission meets on 22 October and the Nevada Gaming Control Board has sessions scheduled for 4–5 November 2026. Any effective closing on Persson’s timeline would require a live licence covering the new operator or the scheduling of a special hearing.

Bankruptcy status and sale-background

The Elko casino operations are managed by Maverick NV LLC, a debtor in the RunItOneTime LLC bankruptcy case before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Case No. 25-90191), presided over by Judge Alfredo R. Pérez. The docket as of 7 October contains no sale motion regarding the Elko properties; the most recent sale motion filed 30 September related to two card rooms in Tukwila, Washington, which share lease contingencies with the Elko locations.

In October 2022 the company sold two Elko casinos, an Elko gas station and a Tukwila card room to Blue Owl for $47.3 million and leased them back, according to a debtors’ motion filed in December 2025. Those lease and rent concession agreements in the docket include a concession expiry date of 1 December 2026 for certain locations.

The process followed in Tukwila — in which the real-estate creditor Blue Owl sold the real property to a separate buyer while the estate only transferred personal property and rejected the lease — is the model legal analysts have flagged as relevant to Elko. Persson has not said whether he is buying the buildings or negotiating a new lease.

Regulator and timing: licence will determine speed

Mike Dreitzer, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, told The Nevada Independent the agency is "very involved" and has been in contact with Persson "extensively." Nevertheless, as of 7 October no public agendas for the Board or the Nevada Gaming Commission contained any items relating to Maverick or the Elko casinos. Recent experience shows the regulator can accelerate matters via special hearings; a precedent this year allowed conditional approvals for properties in Primm, albeit with public requirements and time limits.

The regulatory timetable puts the critical operational date on 30 November, when the WARN notices indicate the debtor plans to close; regulatory intervention will be decisive if Persson is to operate without interruption.

What remains to be seen and risks for the creditor estate

Until a sale motion is filed with the court, a lease agreement is presented, or the relevant licence issued, Persson’s statement remains an intention reported in the press. Outstanding details that will have real impact include:

• the price and the purchasing entity that are submitted in a sale motion;

• whether the transaction includes acquisition of the real estate or only assets with a new lease;

• the regulator’s involvement to grant or transfer licences in time.

A sale to a former executive and majority shareholder already attracted scrutiny when Persson was treated as an "insider" in prior transactions, so any move to repurchase assets from the bankruptcy estate will be subject to judicial review and challenge by creditors.

Operational context: other properties and the same approach

Persson said he will apply the same process he announced on 6 October for eight card rooms in Washington and will follow that model for two casinos in West Wendover and for the High Desert Inn (a non-gaming property) in Elko. Meanwhile, operational management of the Elko properties has been exercised by RRC Gaming Management, LLC under Tony Rodio, who was appointed in March 2026 to replace Anthony Marnell III in managing the licensed operator affiliates.

Persson has increased the probability that the 239 jobs survive past 30 November, but realization will depend on filing a formal sale, a lease agreement and the required regulatory approvals.

"There will be no disruption and all the employees will be rehired," Eric Persson said of his plan for Elko.
"[The Nevada Gaming Control Board] is very involved," Mike Dreitzer said on regulatory oversight.